June 9, 1992 -- ``Far and Away,'' is kind of a big glossy, but shallow romance story. It isn't very believable, but it sure looks good. Tom Cruise and his wife, Nicole Kidman make a very handsome couple and the photography, which would look even better on a big screen and 70 millimeter format, is breathtaking. The musical score by John Williams is also above average.

The acting is also quite good, not only by the stars, but by other players, such as Robert Prosky as the Irish Protestant landlord, and Colm Meany, a regular on ``Star Trek, the Next Generation,'' who plays a mean Irish boss in Boston. All have great Irish accents. Meany is a native of Ireland, so it comes naturally to him.

The thing that hurts this film is the plot. There are too many coincidences, too many wildly improbable events, such as Prosky giving up his vast land holdings and going to America where he is pitted against commoners in a land rush.

Supposedly, he leaves his property behind because his house is burned down by Irish Catholics. Everybody ends up in the same place at the end of the film, coming from thousands of miles away, again, largely by coincidence.

This is a very well-intentioned film and director Ron Howard does the best he can with it, but it is too long, too slow and too dumb. This film rates a C.

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